[The Clinical Observation with Ruxolitinib as Graft-Versus-Host Disease Prophylaxis for Children with Thalassemia after Unrelated or Haploidentical Allo-Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation].

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively analyze the efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib therapy for children with thalassemia after unrelated or haploidentical stem cell transplantation.

METHODS: From March 2020 to March 2021, 22 patients received successfully allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen University, from +30 to 100 days,those patients received ruxolitinib therapy (2.5 mg, twice daily) and all adverse reactions were observed, include aGVHD, cGVHD, CMV and EBV infection.

RESULTS: 22 patients underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation, 5 patients were diagnosed as aGVHD, 3 patients had grade I－II skin GVHD and 2 patients had grade II intestinal GVHD, those patients were cured. All patients were followed up for more than 21 weeks, 4 cases developed cGVHD, including 3 cases of localized liver GVHD and 1 case of pulmonary GVHD, those were relieved after active treatment. 8 patients had elevated EBV copies (>3×103 /ml), and 3 patients had increased CMV copies, the patients recovered after immunosuppressant and antiviral treatment. There was no CMV infection and EBV related post-transplantant lymphoproliferative disorders(PTLD), and no transplant related deaths.

CONCLUSION: Ruxolitinib can effectively reduce the incidence and severity of GVHD without affecting the hematopoietic recovery, and improve the survival status of thalassemia children after transplantation.